Mercy warranted in prison sentence

When you follow a case such as John Wise’s, you can fully appreciate how much the justice system asks of jurors and judges.

A jury convicted the Massillon resident last week of aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault, all with firearm specifications, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

If he were paroled in 23 years as the sentence allows, Wise would be 91 years old. But it was another issue that drove Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh to announce Thursday that she will ask for a reduction in his sentence.

“It is our duty to seek justice,” Walsh said. “In light of the unique facts of this case, a shorter prison sentence is just.”

The “unique facts” add up to a heartbreaking situation that led to Wise’s killing his wife of 45 years in her hospital bed.

His testimony makes it clear why the course he chose seems to observers both unimaginable and understandable: “She opened her eyes and looked at me like she was in pain and a tear rolled down her cheek. I decided then what I was going to do. ... I kissed her on the cheek and shot her.”

Wise testified that he also had planned to kill himself but the gun jammed. He had turned down plea offers that would have resulted in a much shorter sentence on a manslaughter charge.

If the judge agrees with Walsh, Wise could serve a total of six years for manslaughter and the firearm specification.

As the prosecutor noted Thursday, Wise committed an illegal act that put others in the hospital in danger. Certainly some prison time is warranted. And under Ohio law, there is no such act as “mercy killing.”

But mercy is a sentencing option for the court, and mercy is appropriate in this case.